We will journey through the entire life cycle of a query, from its initial creation to final execution, highlighting critical optimization opportunities at each stage. Attendees will learn how to effectively parse and plan queries in Vertica, understand the significance of columnar storage and compression for performance enhancement, and discover how Vertica’s unique distributed architecture influences query execution strategies. This session is going to build a basis for the following steps and sessions to gain a holistic understanding of how each phase impacts overall performance and how to make informed decisions in optimizing queries for faster, more efficient data retrieval.